Educational Science

Frog Fungus Causes Grisly Death by Dehydration

A fungus that has torn through frog populations worldwide kills by dehydrating the hapless amphibians, disrupting electrolyte balance and causing cardiac arrest. The fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which is responsible for chytridiomycosis disease, has caused massive frog death on a global scale, threatening many species with extinction. When the fungus reached...

Why are Frogs Disappearing?

Kermit the Frog is more right now than ever: It’s not easy being green. Or any other color of frog, toad or other amphibian in the world, as rapid changes in the environment are killing off frogs left and right. Though fungi and habitat destruction have been implicated in the...

Parasites seem to be each other's worst enemy, and a frog's best friend, new research indicates. Increases in the diversity of parasites that attack amphibians cause a decrease in the infection success rate of those parasites. Collectively, our findings illustrate the importance of considering the hidden role of parasite diversity...

Live Bullfrog Trade Implicated in Amphibian-Killing Disease

Bullfrogs, often shipped live between continents to be eaten, are spreading the deadly chytrid fungus that is threatening amphibians worldwide, new research indicates. A team of researchers collected bullfrogs on sale at Asian food stores in seven cities in the United States and found 41 percent of the frogs were...

Can Frogs Survive Being Frozen?

Warm weather brings thoughts of spring peepers and leaping bull frogs. But what happens to frogs in the winter? If they can’t dig down far enough into the soil to avoid the ice or aren’t lucky enough to live in warmer climates, some actually freeze. Fortunately for them, they don’t...

Frogs Fading? Amphibian Census May Guide Recovery Leaps (Op-Ed)

Karen Lips, an amphibian ecologist and tropical biologist, is an associate professor at the University of Maryland in College Park. She contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights It was a dark and steamy night and clouds of insects were biting our faces and hands as we...

Frogs Swallow Using Eyeballs: Exhibit Reveals Creatures' Quirks

NEW YORK — Neon green, vivid orange, striped and spotted — the frogs are back! An exhibit featuring live frogs from around the world is returning to the American Museum of Natural History here in New York. The exhibition, entitled Frogs: A Chorus of Colors, features more than 150 live...

New Frog Species Is Bright Yellow

A new bright yellow frog species has been found in the mountains of western Panama. The frog belongs to a species-rich group of frogs, the so-called rainfrogs that lack a tadpole stage, but develop directly as little frogs inside the egg. Andreas Hertz and colleagues from the Senckenberg Research Institute...

Rare Frog Sports Thumb-Spikes for Sex and Combat

A rare Japanese frog sports spikes protruding from a set of pseudo-thumbs, a scientist has discovered. The built-in weaponry helps the males grab onto females during sex and duel with competitors over mates, the researcher said. Unlike most four-toed frogs, the endangered Otton frog (Babina subaspera) has a fifth finger....

Pictures: Cute and Colorful Frog Images

Bumblebee Dart Poison Frog (Image credit: © T. Grant/AMNH)A new exhibit featuring live frogs from all over the world is opening at the American Museum of Natural History in New York Saturday (May 17) and runs through January 5, 2014.The exhibition, entitled Frogs: A Chorus of Colors, contains more than...